61 Chapter 61: Heart of a Beast

"As you already know, learning jutsus of other elements, especially those simple and basic ones, can be easily copied and mastered expertly by a Sharingan user in a short amount of time, especially with fully matured and mutated Sharingan like yours." Ancestor said as he looked at Huo Yuhao listening intently.

"And since you've already known Fire Jutsus from Rank E to A and we don't have to waste any time..."

A smirk spread across Ancestor's featureless expression. "That means you don't have to worry about learning lower ranked jutsus from scratch again, I'll just perform the necessary hand seals of Water jutsus from rank B below."

Huo Yuhao's eyes lit, clenching his hands.

'Finally! I don't have to go through that slow hell ever again!'

He knew that Ancestor had only let him slowly learn the jutsus to instill a sense of discipline and understand them thoroughly, and he enjoyed studying the fine details of how a fire jutsu work for a while, but he was beyond eager to move on and explore new elemental jutsus.

Ancestor continued, "Water is a versatile and adaptable element. It can be as calm as a flowing river or as fierce as a raging tsunami. It offers a wide range of offensive, defensive, and supplementary jutsus that can greatly enhance your abilities in battle."

Huo Yuhao nodded, his excitement growing with each word. "I'm ready, Ancestor. Teach me the water jutsus."

Ancestor began performing a series of precise hand seals, soul power surged and the water element around in the air and in the snow started swirling around him. He then executed a powerful Water Release jutsu, causing a torrent of water to burst forth from his mouth. The water crashed against a nearby boulder, shattering it into pieces.

"This is the Water Release: Wild Water Wave," Ancestor explained. "It works with the same principle as the Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. And with your experience with the latter already, you should be–"

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

Huo Yuhao's mouth puffed up, with his right hand raised into a handseal, as he imitated Ancestor's movements. His soul power surged, and a burst of cold mist formed in front of him. Suddenly, a powerful jet of water shot out from his mouth, crashing against another boulder and shattering it into pieces just like Ancestor did.

Ancestor smirked, impressed by Huo Yuhao's slyness of using the Sharingan from the start. "Very good, Yuhao. However, can you keep it up?"

Huo Yuhao nodded confidently. "Of course."

And so, for almost a month, Huo Yuhao learned the way of the water.

"...I have to ask, Yuhao. Why did you choose Water Jutsus to learn first?" Ancestor asked as he, and the Snow Rabbit who was still alive and nibbling on a cooked meat from a Ice Boar, looked at Huo Yuhao sitting cross-legged on the snow learning his last Water Jutsu.

Unlike all of the Water Jutsus, this one affected his body; the Hydrification Technique. It was a clan technique and something that Ancestor learned through one of his past incarnations.

Hydrification Technique allows the user to liquefy any part of their body at will, from the hair on their head to the muscles in their arms. When the user is struck by a physical attack, the impacted area becomes liquid, causing the attack to pass through them and leave them unharmed. The user then solidifies back into their original form. In addition to defence, the user can convert their body into liquid for any number of purposes, such as infiltration and camouflage. They can pump water into their muscles to increase their strength, shoot water from their fingers as an attack, or use their bodies to douse targets.

It's a seemingly powerful and versatile technique, however the Hydrification Technique seemed to be permanent for the one who used it; making them vulnerable to lightning attacks and if an attack overwhelms a user and they pass out, their unconscious body will take on a jelly-like state.

But how could Ancestor teach it to Huo Yuhao if it had such weaknesses? Simple, he had just modified the technique to make it last as long Huo Yuhao has soul power or he deactivate the technique.

Ancestor has numerous lifetimes, most he remembers, and most of them was being a Shinobi. And although he mostly battled in those lifetimes, those battles of using all kinds of elemental jutsus gave him a deep understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of each elemental jutsus. With his vast knowledge, modifying a technique was just child's play.

"Hm. To be honest, I chose the Water element because of having my second martial soul and control over Ultimate Ice. After all, Ice is the result of combining Water and Wind elements, so I thought having a solid foundation in Water jutsus would help me in mastering Ice jutsus in the future," Huo Yuhao explained, his eyes glowing with determination.

Ancestor nodded in understanding. "That's a smart choice. Water and Ice share similar properties, and mastering Water jutsus will definitely give you an advantage when it comes to manipulating ice. Plus, Water jutsus have a wide range of applications in both offense and defense, which can greatly enhance your overall combat abilities."

Huo Yuhao smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Ancestor. I'm grateful for your guidance and teachings. With the Water jutsus, I feel much more stronger than before. By the time my training ends, there will certainly be no one in my age that will be a threat to me. And soon..."

Ancestor nodded approvingly. "You're making great progress, Yuhao. By the way..." He glanced to the side. "What are you going to do with this little one here?"

"....I honestly don't know." Huo Yuhao flatly stared at the growing Snow Rabbit. When he first found it, it was just a small puffball at the size of his hand but now...

It got chubby and was now at the size of his head.

He shook his head. "Just ignore it for now. I'm sure it'll just hop away after I'm done with my training anyway."

"Yuhao, have you learned the Hydrification Technique now?"

Huo Yuhao looked down in thought for a moment before replying, "I think so? Give me a day or two more of testing it out and then I'll be sure."

Ancestor shook his head. "Just do it whilst learning Wind jutsus. Because if we can finish your training quicker, the sooner we can proceed to the next."

Huo Yuhao blinked his eyes. "Oh yeah, now that you've mentioned it. What is that next phase of training you were talking about? That, train your heart of a beast thing?"

"...You'll find out soon enough." Ancestor paused for a moment before answering.

'Ooookay... Not foreboding or anything.' Huo Yuhao inwardly rolled his eyes. But whatever it was, it couldn't be that harsh than having fused with Ice Empress.

"Wind, as you know, is another versatile element and also the rarest," Ancestor began, changing the subject. "It is characterized by its cutting ability, and it can be used in a variety of offensive and defensive techniques. Wind Release can also be exhaled from the user's mouth, such as to blow away everything in the area, or generated with the user's hands, allowing precision strikes. Although Wind Release has naturally good range and power, it can be further enhanced by compressing it or layering different wind streams together."

"Wind Release can easily launch particles into the air, whether to create dust clouds that conceal the user's movements or sand storms that perforate targets. Also, in theory... with the right control of soul power... one can fly."

Huo Yuhao's eyes lit, his excitement growing once again. "I'm ready to learn Wind jutsus, Ancestor!"

Who wouldn't want to learn how to fly? Flying in the air without having a bird type or Wind element martial soul is only available to those who reach Soul Sage! A soul master who is an official powerhouse in an empire.

Ancestor smiled, pleased with Huo Yuhao's enthusiasm. "Good. If you can master all the Wind Jutsus before the end of the month, I'll then teach you a couple Ice Release Jutsus."

And so begins another month of learning new jutsus, the path of wind now opened up for Huo Yuhao.

"Kyuu..." The Snow Rabbit let out a lazy squeak and laid between Huo Yuhao's legs, who sat cross-legged and ate his dinner of Frost Demon Chicken.

Yeah for some odd reason, there are Ice type chickens here and had managed to advanced to a hundred years old. Unfortunately for them however, they came across a hungry Huo Yuhao who had just finished learning all the Wind Jutsus Ancestor had.

"... Y'know, after having you by my side for like a couple months now, I'm thinking of taking you as my pet." Huo Yuhao muttered, taking a bit out of a roasted chicken leg.

He smiled. "And I was thinking of naming you Dong'er as a joke of my roommate's name."

"Kyuu..."

"Yes, Dong'er. It's a good name isn't it? I'm such a genius, yes I am." Huo Yuhao chuckled, gently petting the chubby Snow Rabbit.

....

In Shrek Academy.

"Achoo!"

"Hm? Wang Dong, did you get a cold?"

"I... I'm not sure Teacher Zhou." Wang Dong confusedly replied, feeling strange chill up his spine.

"Hm. Just to be safe, head on over to the infirmary and if it's nothing, you stand outside for disrupting the class."

"...Yes, teacher Zhou."

....

"Yuhao, it's time for your final training for the next three months." Ancestor said, appearing before Huo Yuhao.

"I'm ready, Ancestor." Huo Yuhao replied, his eyes filled with determination. "What do I need to do?"

Ancestor smirked. "You need to learn how to train your heart of a beast. This training will push you to your limits and test your strength, both physically and mentally. It will challenge you to overcome your fears and become a true warrior."

"...Uh, how–"

Huo Yuhao scratched his head, in terms of enduring pain; he already experienced enough to last a lifetime, in terms of combat ability; he could beat an adult Soul Ancestor without using any of his two martial souls.

"To put it simply, Yuhao. You lack what most true warriors have went through almost their entire lives, bloody battles." A bloodthirsty aura started emitting out of Ancestor's body.

Before Huo Yuhao could react, the Snow Rabbit disappeared from his lap, and his soul power, spiritual power and Ice God Legacy were completely sealed.

"Ancestor what–"

"RAAAAAARGH!!"

As Huo Yuhao was confused, numerous deep roars echoed throughout his camp. He turned his head and froze in place.

In front of him stood a group of fierce and terrifying beasts. There were massive wolves with sharp fangs, towering bears with powerful claws, and various other beasts with scales shimmering with a deep blue light.

Ancestor's voice rang in Huo Yuhao's ears. "These are your opponents, Yuhao. You will fight them with your bare hands, no soul power, no spiritual power, no martial souls, and no jutsus. Only your strength and skills as a warrior."

His Sharingan appeared, narrowing. "So, fight. Fight for your survival and develop the heart of a beast."

Huo Yuhao's heart raced, fear gripping his chest. This was not what he had expected.

.....

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